The Kremlin’s Invasion of Ukraine: Humanity at Its Worst

It’s not every day you wake up in the middle of the night at the sound of explosions after explosions right outside your window, consoling your crying child and convincing yourself to stay calm in the middle of a warzone. Sounds indescribably terrifying, does it not? But this is the acrid reality of millions of Ukrainian living in their own home. At the dawn of the 24th, the Russian Government launched a full-scale military invasion with air raids and missile strikes on military facilities all over Ukraine.

As the attack began, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the issue by saying that it was needed to protect the people of eastern Ukraine, where there has been unrest and violence existing between the Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists. According to the news source of Al-Jazeera, “Putin said Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but plans to ‘demilitarise’ it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. He urged Ukrainian servicemen to ‘immediately put down arms and go home’.” Right after this announcement, there were multiple explosions heard in the main cities of Ukraine like Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.

In a video address on early Friday morning, the Ukrainian President reported almost 137 dead in the attack, both servicemen and civilians, and many more injured. President Zelenskyy also urged the citizens of Ukraine to stay calm and stay at home, promising that Ukraine would defend itself.

On Thursday morning, there was a long line of traffic in the streets leading outside the city of Kyiv, as the Russian troops had gradually been closing in on the capital. Long lines in front of the ATMs, people stocking up their groceries and preparing to march towards the nearest border, the whole country has become an eerie and uncertain place. Meanwhile, the terrified and panicked civilians are hiding and fleeing in the face of the attack.

The neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine like Poland, Moldova, and Hungary have opened their borders for these horror-stricken people. But even though powerful countries like the US, the UK, and countries of the EU have announced sanctions on Russia’s national economy,  there doesn’t seem to be any other sort of help to provide more troops or ammunition for Ukraine. The military of Ukraine is so outnumbered by the one of Russia that President Zelenskyy has called on the inexperienced at war civilians of the nation, saying Kyiv will issue weapons to anyone who wants them.